Omnibus Land Bill of 2009

Floor Speech

OMNIBUS LAND BILL of 2009 (House of Representatives - February 09, 2009)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GOHMERT. I appreciate the gentleman yielding. One of the things that's been so troubling with all the promises in 2006 that, if the Democrats were put back in the majority, then they would be the most open House, this would be the most open House, everything would go through committee, everything would go through regular order. It has turned out that those have been completely hollow promises. This has been, from the best I can determine from the history of this place, perhaps the most totalitarian in the last 2 years, and it's certainly shaping up that way now. There's no chance for input.

We saw in the last Congress, they even found a way around conference committees by just cutting House Republicans out completely, finding some Republicans in the Senate willing to go along, agreeing to a bill without the conference rule being followed, and then being sent back over and over and over.

There's amendments not being allowed. The rules are being changed this time, stripping out so much that is proper process. All of those people represented by people in the minority should a chance to have their vote in this House, but we're rapidly building into a situation of taxation without representation because we're not being allowed--we can come to the floor and talk like this, but we're not being allowed to have input in these bills, and they're being rammed down the throats of Americans who deserve better. They deserve the transparency that has not happened.

And I just appreciate so much my friend from Utah (Mr. Bishop) pointing out the problems with the process that has created such a terrible monstrosity as this bill ultimately, with some good ingredients in there, but ultimately a terrible monstrosity. And I appreciate my friend for yielding.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source